The Society claims that certain components of blood will not violate conscience because they already pass naturally between mother and fetus. (funny how THEY tell me what violates my conscience, but that is another story) Anyways, here is their reasoning:
Watchtower of June 1, 1990, pages 30 & 31 "It is significant that the blood system of a pregnant woman is separate from that of the fetus in her womb; their blood types are often different. The mother does not pass her blood into the fetus. Formed elements (cells) from the mother's blood do not cross the placental barrier into the fetus' blood, nor does the plasma as such. In fact, if by some injury the mother's and the fetus' blood mingle, health problems can later develop (Rh or ABO incompatibility). However, some substances from the plasma cross into the fetus' circulation. Do plasma proteins, such as immune globulin and albumin? Yes, some do.
A pregnant woman has an active mechanism by which some immune globulin moves from the mother's blood to the fetus'. Because this natural movement of antibodies into the fetus occurs in all pregnancies, babies are born with a degree of normal protective immunity to certain infections.
It is similar with albumin, which doctors may prescribe as a treatment for shock or certain other conditions. Researchers have proved that albumin from the plasma is also transported, though less efficiently, across the placenta from a mother into her fetus.
That some protein fractions from the plasma do move naturally into the blood system of another individual (the fetus) may be another consideration when a Christian is deciding whether he will accept immune globulin, albumin, or similar injections of plasma fractions. One person may feel that he in good conscience can; another may conclude that he cannot. Each must resolve the matter personally before God."
What they seem to have missed is that red blood cells ALSO pass between mother and baby:
Simpson JL; Elias S., JAMA 1993 Nov. 17;270(19):2357-61
"Thus fetal DNA sequences indeed exist in maternal blood. Among the various candidate cells, the most promising appear to be fetal nucleated red blood cells. We isolated nucleated red blood cells on the basis of flow-sorting for the transferring receptor and glycophorin-A"
Isolating Fetal Cells in Maternal Circulation For Prenatal Diagnosis by Joe Leigh Simpson and Sherman Elias; Prenatal Diagnosis, Vol. 14: 1229-1242 (1994)
"Fetal cells unequivocally exist in and can be isolated from maternal blood. Erythroblasts (immature red blood cells), trophoblasts, granulocytes and lymphocytes (white blood cells) have all been isolated by various density gradient and flow sorting techniques."
Early Human Development 47 Suppl. (1996) S73-S77
(this is a paraphrase of the article, not a quote)
Fetal cells have been detected in the mother's circulation as early as four weeks and five days after conception, and are present during all three trimesters of pregnancy; gradually increasing as gestation progresses. Also of great significance is the fact that the majority of cord blood samples reveal that the mother's cell's are also present in fetal circulation. So we have a dual exchange of blood components more than 50% of the time.
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There is also abundant evidence on WHITE BLOOD CELLS also passing between mother and baby in breast milk. See the following references:
How Breastmilk Protects Newborns
Scientific American December 1995 Vol. 273 No. 6 Page 76
By Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/29.html (reprinted on Breastfeeding site)
As is true of defensive molecules, immune cells are abundant in human milk. They consist of white blood cells, or leukocytes, that fight infection themselves and activate other defense mechanisms. The most impressive amount is found in colostrum. Most of the cells are neutrophils, a type of phagocyte that normally circulates in the bloodstream. Some evidence suggests that neutrophils continue to act as phagocytes in the infant's gut. Yet they are less aggressive than blood neutrophils and virtually disappear from breast milk six weeks after birth. So perhaps they serve some other function, such as protecting the breast from infection.
Mother's Milk: precious protection
Healthy Options, August 2003, pg 9-11
By Susan Claridge
http://www.archetypeltd.co.nz/Mothers_milk.htm (reprint)
Immune cells, white blood cells, or leukocytes, that fight infection themselves and activate other defence mechanisms, are abundant in human milk particularly in colostrum1 , 7 . In order of abundance these cells are neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes. Macrophages are cells that kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Macrophages also manufacture lysozyme, an enzyme that destroys bacteria by disrupting their cell walls 1 , 5 . Lymphocytes comprise B lymphocytes, which give rise to antibodies, and T lymphocytes, which kill infected cells directly or send out chemical messages that mobilise still other components of the immune system1 ,7 . Milk lymphocytes also manufacture several chemicals-including gamma-interferon, migration inhibition factor and monocyte chemotactic factor that can strengthen an infant's own immune response1 .
leu?ko?cyte also leu?co?cyte
n.
See white blood cell.(below)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
ISBN: 0395825172
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
===
white blood celln. Abbr. WBC
Any of various blood cells that have a nucleus and cytoplasm, separate into a thin white layer when whole blood is centrifuged, and help protect the body from infection and disease. White blood cells include neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. Also called leukocyte, white cell, white corpuscle.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
ISBN: 0395825172
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
These references have been pulled from various ex-JW-sites and stuff. I just now put them together for my own upcoming confrontations and thought I would give back to the "community".
Enjoy.
-ithinkisee